The recent decision of the New Zealand High Court in G-Star
Raw C.V. v Jeanswest Corporation (New Zealand) Ltd is a
reminder that copyright laws in Australia and New Zealand differ on
some points.
In this case, G-Star successfully sued Jeanswest for
infringement of copyright in design drawings for its Elwood jeans
in New Zealand in circumstances where it would not have succeeded
in Australia.
I use the term 'successfully' with some qualification.
After eight days of trial with two counsel on each side G-Star were
awarded damages of NZ$325.
G-Star sought additional damages for wilful infringement, but
these were declined. Rather, the court chose to infer that the
infringement in New Zealand was due to Jeanswest focusing on the
copyright position in Australia and failing to recognise that the
legal position in New Zealand was different.
